CALIFORNIA PLACE NAMES
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Alameda The name, meaning "grove of poplar (or cottonwood trees),' was mentioned in 1794. The name referred later to the creek, was applied to the city by popular vote and was given to the county by act of the legislature in 1853.Amboy The names of the railroad stations from here to the Arizona state line were originally (1883) in alphabetical order, names after places "back east": Amboy, Bristol, Cadiz, Danby, Edison, Fenner, Goffs. At a later time, Homer, Ibex (Ibis) and Kleinfelter were added.
Anacapa Islands A Chumash Indian word also spelled Anyapah. Vancouver records it as Enneeapah and Enecapah; the present spelling is found on Spanish maps.
Anaheim The "mother colony" of the south settled by Germans in 1858 and named after the river Santa Ana, plus the suffix -heim (home).
Avalon The name of King Arthur's legendary Elysium was bestowed on the town in 1887.
Bakersfield Colonel Thomas Baker, who tried to develop a waterway from Kern Lake to San Francisco Bay in the early 1860s had a corral here know as "Baker's field." In 1868 the name was transferred to the city.Balboa Named in 1905 in honor of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, discoverer of the Pacific Ocean in 1513.
Banning Named in 1885 for Phineas Banning, of Delaware, after 1851 one of the outstanding pioneers in the development of the Los Angeles district.
Barstow Named in 1886 by the Santa Fe Railroad for its president, William Barstow Strong.
Bellflower Named in 1909 after an orchard of bellflower apples.
Berkeley In 1866 the new college town was named for the philosopher, Bishop George Berkeley, who wrote the famous line: "Westward the course of empire takes its way."
Beverly Hills Named in 1907 by B.E. Green after Beverly Farms, Massachusetts.
Bishop Named after Samuel A. Bishop of Virginia, who came to California in 1849 and became a well-known cattleman. The name was first applied to the creek.
Blythe Named for Thomas H. Blythe, of San Francisco, a promoter of irrigation in the 1870s.
Buena Park A half-Spanish name (buena, 'good'), given to the town in 1887 and the Santa Fe station in 1929.
Burbank Named for Dr. David Burbank, a Los Angeles dentist, in 1887.
Cabazon The Southern Pacific station was named in the 1870s after a rancheria near by, so named because the chief had an unusually large head (cabezón).Cahuenga Pass The pass derived its name from the Cahuenga Rancho, which was named after an Indian rancheria mentioned as Caguenga as early as 1802. At "Campo de Cahuenga" General Andrés Pico surrendered to Frémont, January 13, 1847.
Cajon Pass The word means 'box' in Spanish and as a geographic term was used to describe boxlike canyons. The canyon which gave the name to the pass on the old Spanish train was mentioned in 1806 as "el cajon que llaman Muscupiavit" (the canyon called Muscupiavit), a name which was probably given because of the Indian village of Muscupiavit near by.
Calexico Coined in 1901 from California and Mexico. The settlement on the Mexican side is Mexicali.
California California, like El Dorado, Quivira, and The Seven Cities of Cibola, was the name of one of the utopias which originated in the imagination of the people after the discovery of America had revived the age-old dream of a paradise on earth. The mythical realm was apparently created by the Spanish writer Montalvo in the romance Las Sergas de Esplandián (the exploits of Esplandian) and endowed with beautiful black Amazons, gold and pearls. The name is a fanciful creation; none of the many explanations of the meaning of California can be substantiated. Golfo de la California and Cabo California appear on maps of 1562. In 1569 the name was applied to the peninsula of what is now Lower California; on later maps it was often extended to include the entire Pacific coast. From 1769 to 1846 the area which approximately included in the present state was termed Alta (upper), or Nuevo (new), California.
Carlsbad Named in 1886 after the famous German Karlsbad in Bohemia because the mineral waters found in the two places are similar in composition.
Castaic The Chumash Indians apparently called the village at the foot of a trail over the mountains Kashtik ('my eyes' or 'our eye'), used here perhaps in the same sense of 'view.' The name of the lake and the valley in Kern County was spelled Castac.
Cienega The Spanish word for marsh, often used to designate 'meadow' in America, was formerly a common place name, but has survived only for a few creeks.
Cima The Spanish word for summit was applied to the Union Pacific station in 1907.
Coachella The valley north of the Salton Sea was named for the Cahuilla Indians, whose name is preserved south of the San Bernardino National Forest. When the region north of the Salton Sea was surveyed before 1900, the name Conchilla Valley was suggested but disregarded and the present meaningless name was substituted and made official in 1909.
Colorado River The name was applied in 1604 to the present Little Colorado in Arizona "because the water is nearly red." In 1700 the name was identified with the great river. American cartographers tried to substitute Red River.
Corona The Latin word for circle was applied in 1896 because of the circular drive around the city; this was the scene of spectacular auto races 1913-1916.
Coronado Named in 1887 after the islands off the coast of Baja California, Los Coronados, which in turn has been named by Vizcaíno in 1602.
Culver City Named for Harry H. Culver, who subdivided part of the Ballona land grant in 1914.
Dana Point Named in 1884 by the Coast Survey for Richard H. Dana, author of Two Years Before the Mast.Del Mar The name was suggested in 1885 by Bayard Taylor's poem "The Fight of Paso del Mar."
Point Dume The name was given to the cape by Vancouver in 1793, in honor of Padre Dumetz of Mission San Buenaventura, but was misspelled on Vancouver's map and has never been corrected.
Edwards The airfield was named in 1950 for Capt. Glenn W. Edwards, killed in an experimental flight.El Capitan (Yosemite National Park) Named in 1851 by the Mariposa Battalion, discoverers of the valley, who assumed that El Capitan (the captain, the chief) was the Spanish translation of the Indian name for the rock.
El Segundo Applied by the Standard Oil Company in 1911 to its second refinery in California (first was in Richmond).
Point Fermin Given to the point by Vancouver in 1793, in honor of Padre Fermín Francisco de Lasuén.Fullerton Named in 1887 for G.H. Fullerton, president of the development company.
Gardena The name, doubtless coined from "garden," was applied to the subdivision in the 1880s.Gaviota The soldiers of the Portolá expedition on August 24, 1769, named the place where they camped La Gaviota becuase they had killed a sea gull there.
Glendale The town was founded on the Ranch San Rafael about 1880 and named Riverdale. When the post office was established the name was changed because there was a Riverdale P.O. in Fresno County.
Golden Gate Named by Frémont in 1846 in analogy to the Golden Horn in Europe. He chose the name because he foresaw the day when riches of the Orient would flow through the gate, but he could not forsee that the discovery of gold in a few years would give the name new significance.
Griffith Park Named by the city council in 1896, for Griffith J. Griffith, donor of the park area.
Havasu Lake This artificial lake was given the Mojave Indian name for "blue" in 1939.Hawthorne The community was named, about 1906, for the great American novelist.
Hayward The town was laid out in 1854 and named for William Hayward, owner of the hotel.
Hemet The name, applied before 1900, may be Indian or derived from Swedish hemmet (in the home).
Hermosa Beach The Spanish adjective for "beautiful" was given to the subdivision in 1901.
Hollywood Named in 1886, probably after one of the Hollywoods "back east," but possibly after the toyon, popularly known as California holly.
Imperial Valley An imposing name applied to the southern part of the Colorado Desert in 1906 when the California Development Company reclaimed the region for colonization.Indio The Spanish for "indian" was given to the Southern Pacific station in the late 1870s.
Irvine In 1870 James Irvine purchased Rancho San Joaquin and established his orchards. The University was established in 1965.
Ivanpah The name, meaning "good water" in Southern Piute, was applied to the terminal of the Santa Fe branch from Goffs in 1902.
Jalama Named after a Chumash Indian rancheria of La Purisima Mission in 1791.Joshua Tree National Monument The desert tree was named by the Mormons, to whom it seemed a symbol of Joshua leading them to a promised land.
Kern The river was named by Frémont in 1845, for his topographer and artist, Edward M. Kern of Philadelphia. The county was named in 1866.
La Cañada The name, meaning "valley" or "glen," is derived from a land grant of 1843 called La Cañada.La Habra Habra (which in Spanish is spelled without the initial h) means "a gorge, a pass through the mountains"; although it is feminine, nouns beginning with accented a take the article el, so "the pass" would be el (h)abra. The term refers here to the pass through the Puente Hills, traversed by the Portolá expedition on July 30, 1769. The term was used in the name of a land grant, La Cañada del Habra, dated Oct. 22, 1839. In American land grant papers the name was given as La Habra, and this form was applied to the valley and in 1912 to the post office.
La Mirada Given to the Santa Fe station in 1888. A Spanish noun, mirada means "glance," or "gaze."
Lompoc The name of a Chumash Indian rancheria, probably for "shell mound," mentioned as early as 1791, was applied to the town in 1874.
Long Beach This descriptive name was applied to the development in the boom year, 1887.
Los Angeles The river was named Rio de Porciuncula by the Portolá expedition, August 2, 1769, for it was the day of Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Porciúncula (Our Lady of the Angels of Portiuncula). Portiuncula was the chapel in Assisi, Italy, cradle of the Franciscan Order. The full name of the river was recorded by Palou, December 10, 1773. The pueblo was founded in 1781 with the name Reina de los Angeles, but almost invariable appeared on maps and often in documents as Pueblo de los Angeles. Various forms of the name were used ("City of the Angels" in 1847) until the county and city became officially Los Angeles in 1850.
Los Padres National Forest Named in 1936 to commemorate the Franciscan padres, eight of whose missions are in or near the forest reserve.
Lucerne The name of the medieval town and beautiful lake in Switzerland, the site of wilhelm Tell's exploits, is repeatedly used as a place name in California. Lucerne Valley, however, was derived from the European word for alfalfa.
Ludlow Named in the 1870s by the Santa Fe Railroad for William B. Ludlow, master car repairer.
Malibu The origin of the name is probably the Chumash Indian rancheria Umalibo in the jurisdiction of Mission San Buenaventura. The present spelling is found as early as 1805 in the Topanga Malibu land grant.Manhattan Beach Named in 1902 after Manhattan Island, New York.
Mohave The place name, recorded with various spellings since the 17th century, was derived from that of an Indian tribe in the region where California, Arizona and Nevada meet.
Montalvo The name of the Spanish author, in whose romance Las Sergas de Esplandián (about 1510) the name California was first used, was given to the station by the Southern Pacific in 1887.
Mugu Possibly the oldest recorded native name in the station, mentioned as an Indian village by Cabrillo in 1542. It probably means "beach" in the Chumash dialect.
National City Named in 1868 after the Rancho de la Nacion, on which the town was laid out. Until Mexican independence (1822) it had been called Rancho del Rey (the king's ranch).Needles The railroad station, established in February 1883, on the Arizona side of the Colorado River and named after the near-by pinnacles. The name was transferred to the California side in October.
Newhall The Southern Pacific station at the present site of Saugus was named in 1876 for Henry M. Newhall, the owner of the land. The name was moved to the present site in 1878.
Newport The McFadden brothers, who had come from Delaware, started a lumber business here in 1873, named their steamer Newport in 1876, and had the townsite of Newport platted in 1892.
Oakland Because of the luxuriant growth of live oaks the site was called Encinal (oak grove) in Spanish times. The present name was spontaneously chosen when the city was laid out in 1850.Ojai A rancheria Aujai is mentioned in mission records and with the spelling Ojai in land grant papers. A'hwai is Chumash for "moon."
Ontario The town was laid out in 1882 by George B. Chaffey, who came from Ontario, Canada.
Orange The city was founded in 1873, and the county was created in 1889. The city was probably named to advertise one of the principal products of the district, although it may also have been named after one of the fifty-odd other Oranges in the U.S.
Oxnard Named for Henry T. Oxnard when he established a sugar refinery there in 1897.
Parker Dam Named after the station in Arizona, which in turn had been named in 1906 for Earl H. Parker, location engineer of the Santa Fe Railroad.Pasadena The melodious name, adopted by the stockholders of the Indiana Colony in 1875, was taken from the language of the Chippewa Indians of the Mississippi Valley and means "valley."
Perris Named in 1886 for Fred T. Perris, chief engineer for the California Southern Railroad.
Pisgah A crater named after the peak in Palestine from which Moses saw the promised land.
Pismo A Chumash Indian name (pismo probably means "tar") applied to a land grant in 1840.
Pomona The name of the Roman goddess of orchards was given to the city in 1875.
Poway Apparently derived from Paguay, mentioned as a rancho in 1828, a land grant in 1839, and an arroyo in 1841.
Redondo Beach Founded in 1881 and apparently named after the adjoining Ranch Sausal Redondo (round willow grove).Ripon Named in 1876 after the postmaster's home town in WIsconsin.
Riverside The city was named in 1871 because of its location on the banks of a channel of the Santa Ana River. The county was named after the city in 1893.
Sacramento The Spanish name, "Holy Sacrament," was applied to the Feather River in 1808; it was later assumed that the lower Sacramento was the same stream. In 1817 the two main rivers of the valley were recorded as Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, but the course of the former was not identified with the name until the 1830s. The city was laid out in 1848-1849 and named after the river by John A. Sutter, Jr., and Sam Brannan. The county, one of the original 27, was named in 1850.Salton Sea In 1892 the lake bed was named after the Southern Pacific station on its shore. The name, probably from "salt," was kept for the lake that formed in 1907.
San Andreas The valley was named San Adreés by Palou on November 30, 1774, feast day of Saint Andrew, the apostle.
San Bernardino The name of the Italian saint of the 15th century was recorded as a place name in 1810. In 1842 it was applied to a land grant, on a part of which Mormons in 1851 started a settlement, the nucleus for the present city. The mountains are mentioned before 1850, the county was named in 1853, and the national forest in 1893. The name also occurred in other parts of the state.
San Diego The bay was named by Vizcaíno in 1602, in honor of Saint Didacus of Alcalá, a Franciscan saint of the 15th century. The mission was named in 1769, the county in 1850 and the new city in 1856.
San Fernando The mission established in 1797 honored Saint Ferdinand, King of Castile and Leon in the 13th century. Pass, range, river are mentioned in the early 1850s; the city was named in 1874.
Santa Monica The name may have been applied by the second Portolá expedition on May 4, 1770, the day of holy Monica, mother of Saint Augustine. It appears in 1839 in the land grant San Vicente y Santa Monica, on which the modern city was founded in the early 1870s. Sierra de Santa Monica was recorded in 1822.
Saugus A transfer name from Massachusetts, the original meaning of which is "outlet" or "mouth" in the Algonkian Indian dialects. The station was named in 1879.
Signal Hill When the Coast Survey established the Los Angeles Base Line in 1889-1890 a signal was erected on the highest point of Los Cerritos. Thus the eminence (and the town after the discovery of oil) became know by the present name.
Simi Probably from a Chumash Indian designation for "place" or "village." Recorded with the present spelling as early as 1795.
Tecate The name is mentioned as that of an Indian rancheria in 1830 and as a rancho in 1833. It may come from the Mexican atecate, alt meaning "water."Tia Juana Doubtless an Indian name, recorded after 1829 and usually spelled Tiajuan, though the name even in Mexican times was changed by folk etymology to Tia Juana (Aunt Jane).
Toluca An Aztec name transferred from Mexico.
Torrance Planned in 1911 as a model city and named by the owner of the land, Jared S. Torrance.
Twentynine Palms Named Palm Springs during the Railroad Survey in 1855; later Twentynine Palms Spring. Changed to present form in 1927.
Van Nuys Named for Isaac N. Van Nuys, Southern California pioneer of the 1870s.Vasquez Rocks The notorious bandit Tiburcio Vasquez presumably had his hideout here in the 1870s.
Victorville Named Victor in 1885 for J.N. Victor, superintendent of the California Southern Railroad; changed to the present form in 1901.
Waterman Canyon Named for Robert W. Waterman, governor of California 1887-1891.Mount Whitney The highest peak in the continental U.S. was named in July, 1864, by a party of the Whitney Survey for their chief, Josiah Dwight Whitney, State geologist from 1860 to 1874.
Whittier Named in 1887 by Quakers, for John Greenleaf Whittier, poet and reformer.
Wilmington The original name, New San Pedro, was changed in 1863 to Wilmington, after the city in Deleware, former home of the founder, Phineas Banning.
Mount Wilson Named for Benjamin D. "Don Benito" Wilson, first mayor of Los Angeles under American rule, who built a burro trail up the mountain in 1864.
Yosemite The name Yosemity was applied to the valley when it was discovered by the Mariposa Batalion in March 1851, but has been used with the present spelling since 1852. The name meant "the grizzlies" or "the killers" and was applied by the neighboring tribes to the valley Indians because of their lawless character.
Yuma The fort was established in 1850 and named for the Indian tribe on the banks of the Colorado. The Yumas were mentioned about 1700, and the meaning of the name is probably "sons of the river."